I'm tired of being alone (and you're more than enough)
by TrippinOverMyFandoms
Summary: Luther Hargreeves was eighteen years old and the last remaining member of the Umbrella Academy. He's preparing for a life time dedicated to saving the world even if that means being alone. That is until the brother he hasn't seen in five years shows up in the courtyard. This is their life together.
1. Chapter 1

The house was far too quiet that morning when Luther woke up. 'Woke up' meaning finally getting out of bed and starting his day at nearly 11am. He hadn't slept more than a few minutes at a time, being more restless than usual. He couldn't help it, the house felt empty and it's deafening silence seemed to crush him under the weight of it.

His footsteps seemed loud against the stairs as he descended them, heading to the informal dining area where he'd be having breakfast alone. One in a few long line of many to come.

Not even Grace was there to keep him company as he picked at the toast she had made for him. She had gone to attend to the mess his siblings left behind the previous few months. Why she hadn't already gotten to it was beyond him but he never really understood how his mother worked. Maybe she assumed her five remaining children where all still there instead of just one and finally Reginald had taken care of her programming to understand that they weren't, that it was just Luther.

He's peeled off the crust but hasn't eaten in the seven minutes since he sat down, he doesn't feel as hungry as he normally does. Usually he's eagerly awaiting breakfast, ready for whatever meal Mom has made and already planning for a snack later but now it seems like a task. A stark contrast to what he's used to but so are the six empty chairs that stair hollowly back at him.

Luther practically forces himself to eat, starting with the crusts he's peeled off the toast and then the rest of it. Instead of leaving the plate behind for Grace to get, he rinses it and sets it aside to dry. It was just one plate, not seven. It didn't take more than a handful of seconds. Though he wished it had taken hours as he's now faced with his empty schedule for the day.

Sure he had training. But only for an hour or two. And what was he even training for? He was already super strong, already had enhanced endurance, already knew how to protect himself in fights.

If he was lucky his father would have something for him to study, like an animal or a historic event.

As he walks the halls of the grand house aimlessly, his breath becomes more labored. It feels as if the air in the house is thicker than normal and maybe it's the humidity from the looming storm outside or the horrendous silence.

Luther's solution is to go to his room and find a record. It's hard when it brings up memories and thoughts of the siblings he never wholly got along with but eventually settles on a Tiffany album. It's not exempt from memories but it had some good upbeat songs that he needed right now. Ironically, the first song is "I Think We're Alone Now" and wow does Luther feel that deep in his soul. He was alone. All alone in a big empty house that usually had more inhabitants. Sure there were Grace, and Reginald, and Pogo, but no one else.

Luther turns up the amp that's connected to an unholy level, his father be damned. Luther didn't particularly care today. He'd face the consequences at a later date. For now he was more concerned with his loneliness.

He lets the record play as he half heartedly dances throughout the house. The music, though muffled in some rooms, made the house seem less empty. He's surprised when Reginald catches him in the middle of an air guitar motion while standing on the couch in the living room and doesn't say a word.

That was another thing. His father had been seemingly more and more out of character since the death of Ben and the collapse of the academy. Luther barely saw him anymore unless it was at dinner or for mission dispatches. Or even the rare occasion when Lither sought him out himself, daring to interrupt whatever important work it was his father did.

When the music finally stops Luther doesn't bother putting on another record. It's half past three and he's missed lunch, purposely as he still doesn't feel hungry at all.  
He's also not sure if he can listen to the music any longer. It just seemed like a noise after a while and he needed something new.

Voices. He needed voices. Anything. Grace and Diego working on the latter's stutter. Ben and Klaus arguing about how to write a cursive Q. Allison accusing Klaus of the reason her favorite scarf was missing. Diego trying to pick a fight with him. The sound of Vanya's violin. Even the sound Five made when he teleported.

Damn did he miss Five. It had been so many years since he disappeared and half as much since everyone gave up hope he'd come back. He could be dead for all they knew. Vanya had held on the longest and if he was honest some part of him still wished he'd come back but it seemed as if that wouldn't happen the more that time passed.

Luther proceeds out to the courtyard and straight to the gazebo, being in a sheltered space just incase the dark clouds released the water they held.

He let himself get lost in the outdoors. The smell of the humidity, the feel of the small breeze that found its way to the yard, the weathered wood of the structure beneath his finger tips where he braced himself against its railing, the sound of the thunder in the distance mixed with the squawking of the crows that sat in the trees.

His gaze was fixed upon a spot that wasn't particular at all. Just a gathering of the fall leaves where they sat decaying on the grass. He did his best to zone out. To not think. He had had enough of thinking the past two days. He was tired of being plagued by the decisions he had made as the leader over the years, the good and the bad, and the life he had lived so far. He was done.

Just as he reaches a moment of nothing in his mind a large clap of thunder startles him, causing Luther to loose his balance and fall backward onto his butt. He's going to get up, embarrassed that thunder still scared him to a certain degree after all these years when a bolt of lightning audibly cracks overhead and that he's scared of. He doesn't dare move a muscle.

More thunder, more lighting, heavier wind, and enough rain to cause a flood being all at once and with the wind blowing the droplets of water into the gazebo, Luther is soon soaked.

He's too scared to run inside, frozen in fear that he's caught in this sudden and terrible storm. He's like a deer in headlights.

He needs to get indoors, that's the only way he'll be safe, he's in more danger if he stays outside. But he can't see the door. He knows the way well but it still frightens him that he can't see where he's going because of all the rain.

And just as he's about to try and talk himself into moving, it all stops as suddenly as it began.


	2. Chapter 2

When Luther gets up the courage to finally stand, still shocked at the sudden appearance and disappearance of the thunderstorm, he's not expecting someone to be standing roughly in the same area he had been staring at earlier.

The man - boy - couldn't have been much older than him, if at all. He stood tall and thin, dark hair disheveled, as if he had just narrowly escaped danger, the scratches on his square jaw being evident of that.

Something about the way those dark eyes of the stranger looked at Luther, seeming to analyze him and take his his own features as he had just done himself, felt . . . familiar.

Luther shifts his weight from one foot to the other, griping the railing of the structure tightly, steadying himself and regaining his balance. He wondered if anyone inside had noticed the storm.

Slowly Luther exits the gazebo to get a better look, confident now to walk and ask how the hell the stranger has gotten into the courtyard. He has to get into character, the much braver "spaceboy" who was more of a hero in the field rather than at home.

As he gets closer, the stranger watching his every move, Luther now internally questions if the stranger had been there before the storm or not. It was a possibility, he could have been hiding in a bush and not come out until the storm, seeking shelter. But two more questions pried at Luther's mind. The stranger was not wet from the rain. And the courtyard was closed in on all sides by the house, how could he have gotten in?

Luther puffs up his chest, moving away the blonde hair in his eyes that had been flattened to his forehead from the rain. He stands to his full height of almost six feet, which is impressive for an eighteen year old boy, fixing his features to outwardly show the physical strength he held within. He opens his mouth to speak but before he can say anything, the stranger beats him to it.

"Luther?" It's quiet and uncertain but almost pleading at the same time. Luther now notices how lost and and questioning he seems. How unsure he is.

He wants to question how this stranger knows his name, stupidly nodding as he ponders it. The relief that washes over the other's face is the final piece in the puzzle. That and the tattered patch on the equally torn blazer that he wore.

The hair, the eyes, the jaw, the voice, the clothes, knowing Luther's name. It all clicked at once.

And Luther's eyes widened, bigger than the moon.

A short gasp left him without permission and he nearly stumbles backward in shock. The other seems worried again, then Luther finally speaks, "Five?" He says quietly, not even sure if the other hears it but not daring to repeat it, almost as if he says it again the other will disappear.

That look of relief returns on the stranger, who's not a stranger after all, and he rushes forward to give Luther a bone crushing hug. "Oh thank god." He murmurs, holding onto Luther as if he'll slip away any moment.

Luther is stiff, he's not sure if his heart has stopped or its beating so fast he can't feel it. But when he's sure it's all real, he wastes no time in returning the hug, only half way monitoring how much strength he puts into it.

They stay like that for a moment, just Five breathing deeply and now sobbing into Luther's shoulder. Luther couldn't blame him. He too felt tears welling in his own eyes when he heard the first sob from his brother. Other than the occasional sniff or sharp in take of breath they were silent. Not a word passed between them. But they didn't need to stay anything. Everything was said unspoken between them just from the hold they had on each other.

They had never fully gotten along, none of them really had except with Ben, who now seemed like the glue that had kept them all together. But it had been almost five years since Five disappeared. Of course Luther missed him. He was still his brother. They had grown up together. They had been through a lot together. All six of them had, and in certain periods, all seven.

But the tight hold they had on each other said how much they had missed one another. Five's sobs and cuts even seemed to say that he had been through a lot and was just glad to be home.

But Luther could only stand the non-verbal communication so long.

He still held on but pulled his head back after Five seemed to calm down a bit, quickly wiping away the few stray tears that had found their way down his cheeks with the end of his sleeve. His own clean and perfect academy coat was quite the contrast to Five's messed up one.

Luther looked at him again. He was older but now he was this close he was as he remembered him. Though Five's eyes were red and it did nothing to help his messy look, it only made him that much more pitiful.

"What-? How did you-? Where have you been?" Luther struggles with what to ask first. So many questions buzzing in his mind.

Five takes a full step backward, putting a small space between them, and shakes his head, his floppy hair somehow staying in place, Luther could only imagine the amount of tangles there were.

"It's," his voice cracks a little, which is normally Luther's thing, but then Five clears his throat and speaks again, "it's a long story. Can we go inside?"

Luther thinks it an odd request since he was ready to catch up right there in the middle of the courtyard. But he supposes since it's still cloudy that that would be the logical answer. He nods and leads the way, Five following so close behind Luther can practically feel his breath on his neck.

Luther opens the door and enters only to run right into Reginald. He must have been coming to look for him. Odd since he had seemed so busy earlier. Luther wonders if he's actually concerned that he was just out in a quick storm or if he's going to lecture him about the music earlier. Maybe there was even a mission. Luther hoped not but Pogo was in tow so perhaps it was important.

Reginald seems shocked once he realizes Five is not far behind Luther, recognizing him right away. Evident when he tells Pogo, "Go inform Grace of Number Five's return."

Luther turns to look briefly at his brother as the shuffle in the door so they can close it. He seems very relived at the sight of their father and the familiarity of the house.

It still felt so unreal to Luther.

He's in the middle of pinching the skin on his wrist, to ensure this wasn't some weird dream, when he realizes Five is now being lead away by their father. Luther goes to protest, wanting to ask the questions he was sure Reginald was about to ask Five privately in his office, but he dares not go against his father's actions.

So for now he waits. He sets himself on the edge on a couch, resting his elbows on his knees which bounced up and down with all the burning curiosity he had still over what had just happened.


	3. Chapter 3

Luther lays across his bed, upper body dangling over the edge and upside down. He kicked against the other side with his feet, very impatiently waiting on Reginald to be finished talking to Five. He wasn't sure how long it had been but the sun had gone down, or what little sun there was with the storm clouds.

He could only wait in the living room for so long. After half an hour of waiting he got up and went to his room where he paced. He was far too impatient but could he be blamed? He hadn't seen Five in years and he was burning with questions that couldn't be answered right away.

When pacing got old, Luther went down the hall to the phone mounted on the wall of the stairs. While he waited he could at least inform his other siblings of Five's return.

He calls Vanya first. He knew that she and Five had had a pretty good relationship and she seemed to miss him the most. He tried to remember the number she had given him before she left two days ago as he dialed. He gets her voice mail. Figured. Either she was busy or maybe she just didn't want to talk to him. He thought the latter would be odd if she gave him her number so maybe she was busy. Just to be sure he calls her again. When she doesn't answer he leaves a quick message about coming to the house because it was important.

And then he calls Allison. They had kept up somewhat of a telephone conversation since she had become big in L.A. two years ago. He knew her number well. The call goes straight to voicemail. He knew that meant she was definitely busy. Probably filming her latest movie. Last he had talked to her it had been some romantic comedy. He could recall her complaining about how everyone was so "unprofessional" and she was sure it would "flop". That had been two weeks ago. Who knew what she was doing for sure. Luther doesn't bother calling back.

He's not entirely sure if he should call Diego. He only knows his number because Allison had given it to him. But he knew Diego would be pissed if he didn't call him and found out about Five through one of their other siblings. Maybe Diego could tell Klaus since they always had a weird relationship. That and Luther had no way of contacting Klaus. Again no luck. None of his siblings had answered.

It partially bumed him out, maybe they still blamed him. Maybe they were still bitter. He supposed they had a right to be, but it wasn't wholly his fault and this was important.

So now here he was. He had returned to his room and there he stayed, hanging upside down in silence.

His head begins to hurt from all the blood that has rushed to it. Luther sits up on his bed, crossing his legs and massaging his temples, trying to ward off the oncoming headache.

He's not entirely sure he's heard the sudden knock but regardless he says "Come in." Partially grumbling from his head pain.

Luther's not sure why he was surprised when Five pushes the door open. Maybe he still thinks it was all a dream. The event still feeling surreal. Having just been standing outdoors, a sudden and quick thunderstorm, and then there's Five, standing in the courtyard.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt anything." Five only sounds half apologetic, standing half awkwardly and half like he's trying to pretend he owns the place, as if mustering lost confidence. A characteristic normal for Five. Or one that had been when they were thirteen. Maybe he isn't dreaming after all. Luther realizes that Five has thought he was angry at him for entering from the irritation in his voice when he had told the other to come in. "No, you're not." He shakes his head, though not sure if that was a wise idea with the pain in his head, "I was just upside down too long. Head hurts." Five nods and steps out of the entryway to the room, half closing the door behind him. Luther continues to put pressure on his temples. Five crosses the room and sits on the floor, leaning back against the bed.

Luther stops what he's doing and looks down at Five, tilting his head wondering why he sat down there instead of on the bed with him or even in the desk chair. "You know you don't have to sit down there right?" He says. Five huffs. "I know." He sounds so sure, as if his choice hadn't been some unsure decision but rather he had planned it on his way up the stairs. Something in Luther felt dumb for asking but Five had always managed to do that to him. He was so much smarter than himself. But something else in Five's voice sounded small and the exact opposite of the more dominant tone, Luther had almost missed it.

"I guess you wanna know too, huh?" Five says, not allowing much space for silence between them. Luther leans back against the headboard, getting a bit more comfortable, rather than hunching over and making his spine hurt. "Dad already ask you everything?" Luther asks, casting his glance from the ceiling to the top of Five's head which is pretty much all he can see from this angle. Five nods.

"I don't want to ask if you've just had to tell Dad everything then."

"That's considerate of you but I also know you're probably not going to ever ask." Five states soon after Luther finishes his sentence. And he was right. Luther wasn't comfortable with asking about something that was so serious and such a loaded topic. He didn't want to have to make Five relive it if he didn't have to.

Before Luther can protest, Five continues.

"That day that I left," He starts, slow and serious, "I time traveled. I actually did. I went forward in time. I walked down the street going a little further and pushing myself. Until I ended up in the apocalypse." Five is quiet and Luther sits up suddenly. Stunned by his brother's troubling words. "What?" He says, moving so he can lean on his elbows on the edge of the bed and putting his head close to Five's so he can see his face as he speaks. Five nods, confirming what he's said. "Everyone was dead." His tone quiet as he stares off at some invisible point on the wall opposite them. "The house was gone. Everything was on fire. It was like it had just happened. I still don't know what causes it but I know when."

Luther almost doesn't dare ask. But he's always been cursed with a burning curiosity.

Before he can open his mouth to speak Five beats him and it's as if he's read his mind. "It's years from now. There's plenty of time to stop it. I just… have to figure it out."

Luther can't believe it. Everyone dead, the house gone, the _world_ gone. He always thought nothing could happen to his home. But then again he always thought nothing could happen to his family. And yet here they were.

"So I missed out eighteenth huh?" Five says suddenly, changing the topic and Luther doesn't blame him, the impending apocalypse was a dark one. He was pretty sure their father had already asked Five for every detail and Luther wasn't eger to make Five repeat it all over again, especially not if it was as awful as it sounded.

So Luther nods. "Yeah but it wasn't anything big. Klaus was only here half the day. Allison flew in just for the week. Diego wasn't too eager. It was really just me and Vanya most of the time. It's kinda been like that anyway." Luther recalls their birthday which had passed a little over a month ago. They had all just spent a little time together, sort of tired of the birthday they all shared. It wasn't the same with Ben and Five missing. It hadn't even just without Five.

"Not like we get any special privileges or anything. We're not really adults until twenty-one." He shrugs, trying to make Five feel better about missing a milestone in their lives, even if it seemed pretty insignificant. 'Dad didn't really care. As usual. We just sat in the living room."

A small "oh" leave Five as he listens to Luther, still staring straight ahead.

"What happened to the team?" Five almost sounds like he doesn't want to ask. And Luther doesn't really want to answer. It was a hard topic for him like the apocalypse for Five. But if Five shared about the apocalypse he figured he should share about the team.

"Well, it started with Klaus, ya know, him and the drugs and all. It got really bad. I wouldn't always let him help out because he was so stoned. Allison got even more famous. Diego became even more defiant. He stopped wanting to listen to me all together. And then Ben died." Luther trails off, that's the harder part for him. Five turns his head to look at Luther, shocked like Luther had been to find out about the apocalypse. Apparently Reginald hadn't told Five about that particular event. Figures.

"What? When-? How, what happened?"

Luther looks down at the floor. "Back in the spring. That was pretty much the final straw that just broke everyone. Everybody left after that. Allison moved permanently to L.A., Klaus stopped coming home. Diego was already in the process of moving out. And Vanya left two days ago." Luther dances around the 'how' part of everything. He still wasn't okay with reliving it.

Five seems to pick up on his discomfort and doesn't question it further.

"So it was just you and Vanya for a while huh?" Five asks and Luther nods.

"She's a lot cooler than we ever gave her credit for. She's quiet like Ben was but she's really good at that violin. It got so quiet in the house sometimes and I could clearly hear her playing it in her room. Pretty sure she learned some of my favorite songs for me too." As Luther speaks he begins to hate himself for not trying more to get to know her. With any of his siblings. He was just so hyper focused on everything Reginald had told him that he never put much effort in a real relationship with his siblings as more than team mates. Maybe that's why the team failed as much as it did. He was a leader first and a brother second.

That needed to change.


	4. Chapter 4

They sat in silence for a while. Just the two of them. The only sounds passing being their breathing, which at some point synced. Maybe half an hour pasted of just them and Five stood, not saying a word and leaving. He doesn't even look at Luther. Just leaves.

Luther just sighs and lays backwards on his bed, head at the end and feet almost against the headboard. If he was any taller he'd have to lay sideways. He crosses his ankles and props his head up with an elbow, going over what Five had told him. The apocalypse. It was hard to believe. He said they had plenty of time but he still worried. He had seen enough movies to know that every second counted.

It was around seven when Luther finally decided to go downstairs for dinner. Normally it'd be around five-thirty but that was only the formal dinner's with Reginald. Ever since everyone left there hadn't been any formal dinners. There was maybe one that Luther could recall recently but it was just him, Vanya, and their father. It was silent and awkward. Not that they ever had anything to talk about in the past. So Luther didn't have much of a problem with doing away with them.

He's still not really hungry but he knows he should eat and he also knows that Grace will have his head if he doesn't.

Again, he knows he shouldn't be surprised by Five's presence but he is. He seems very bored as he picks through his spaghetti. There's a second plate across from him and it's obvious that Grace was expecting both of them. At the sight of the food that's patiently waiting on him, Luther feels like he hasn't eaten in days. It looks far more appetizing than the toast this morning.

"Hey." Luther says, sitting down at the seat ready for him. "Hey." Five echoes.

As Luther digs into his meal, he can't help but notice that Five looks like he hasn't eaten anything, just torn apart the perfect pile that Mom had made.

"I would have thought you'd be more hungry after five years in an apocalypse." Luther tries, mouthful and doing his best not to sound insensitive. Five only nods and responds with, "Yeah me too." And they were back to the awkward air.

* * *

No one got sleep that night. At least not Luther. He tried to sleep, had about buried himself in his blankets and tossed and turned. But he felt far more awake than he had the previous afternoon. There was just far too much on his mind.

His only cure to his restlessness was to get up and walk around the house. So he wraps himself up in his navy blue robe and slides on house shoes, the house being usually much colder at night than during the day.

The halls were dark and it was slightly unnerving. Even if he was used to the house and all its twists and turns and little hiding spots he still had a fear of the dark and things he couldn't see. The fear was far worse when he was younger and he had learned to deal with it over time but it still freaked him out.

He makes his way to the living room. On his way, passing Five's room and noticing that he was awake as well. The light from his room coming from under the door. The moving shadow and murmurs further confirming. He wants to go in but he doesn't want to disturb Five. Sometimes being alone was helpful.

He only stopped for a minute in the hall and then went to the living room. The large windows let in moonlight which cast a comfortable yet eerie blue glow in the room. He plops himself down on the couch he had sat on earlier when he came inside. But now he lounged instead of sat. His mind ran a million miles all at once still going over the day's events. From the moments he was alone to the return of his brother and the news of the apocalypse he just couldn't wrap his head around.

It felt late. Which would explain all his deep thoughts. He was never like this during the day. A glance at a clock on a bookshelf nearby told him it was nearly midnight.

He nearly jumps straight off the couch when he hears the knock at the door.

Normally Pogo would be the one to answer it, so Luther relaxed again and waited. Nothing. Another knock. So Luther got up and went to the door. He pulls the handle, not sure what who he's going to see but it's definitely not his sister. His eyes grow wide when he's met with Vanya, standing small and timid on the step.

"Sorry," She says when she sees him, "I hope it's not too late. I was busy. I, uh, I meant to call before I came but I wasn't sure if anyone would answer." She steps back a little, looking as if she was afraid of what he would do. But Luther had never harmed her before and wasn't sure why she might think that if she did.

He steps aside, opening the door wider for her to enter. "No it's fine." He assures her, watching her as she walked in, as if she hadn't lived there for the past eighteen years. "He's still awake anyways. And I know he'll want to see you."

"Thank you."

"Vanya you know you used to live here, it's okay, you can relax." She's so stiff and he can hardly stand it. She only barely loosens up as they ascend the stairs.

It's quiet during their climb to the top.

"So uh, what was it you said you're doing? Career wise?" He needed to strike a conversation during their journey down the hall. They had spent months in awkward silence and he was so over it.

"Just violin lessons right now. But I have my eye on this spot in an orchestra." When she answers she sounds more comfortable. Maybe it was because he was actually making an effort to talk to her so she was matching it.

Luther doesn't have time to respond, to tell her how impressed he was with what she was already doing with her life. They've already reached Five's door. So instead, he nods and knocks on Five's door.

"Five?" He says, pressing his ear against the wood, listening for movement. Something falls followed by what sounds like a muffled "shit".

"Five?" Luther repeats, "It's Vanya, she's here." And it's as if he was gifted with super speed instead of teleporting. He opens the door as soon as he's finished saying Vanya's name. Luther watches, to see the reaction of both his siblings. Vanya goes from nervous to wide shocked eyes. He's pretty sure it's just from seeing how much older Five has gotten and how tall he is now. And then just as quick as Five had opened the door he hugs Vanya, similar to how he had hugged Luther earlier in the day.

Luther takes it as his cue to leave. To give them some time alone. He was beginning to feel tired anyways.


	5. Chapter 5

It was the most sleep Luther had gotten in roughly five years.

He had never slept particularly deeply that he noticed as a teen and he was never sure why. Over time he had come to blame it on hyper vigilance and that his body was trained to pick up on things wrong in the home. For some reason however he was out like a light the second he had gotten comfortable after leaving Five and Vanya. He had expected his brain to wander but even as he walked down the hall to his own bedroom his mind went straight to autopilot.

He even slept till 11am.

Luther didn't actually get out of bed unntil nearly thirty minutes later.

He didn't bother to change out of his pajamas as he began his journey from his bedroom down to the informal dining room. He noticed as he walked that his pants only came down to just above his ankles which meant he had probably grown again. He was only eighteen and was already nearly six feet tall. He made a mental note to at some point let either his father or mother know that his clothes were beginning to get too small for him again. It happened to him more frequently than it had the others. And he suspected he was still growing long after his siblings had mostly stopped.

The last time Luther had seen Klaus they were the same height.

Before Diego had moved out, Diego had made a good habit of making fun of and taking advantage of the two inches he had on Luther since he had already reached six feet. Luther know he was going to be taller than him again however. He could feel it.

Vanya had stopped growing long ago. She was stuck at five feet which left all of them towering over her.

Luther was never fully sure of how tall Allison was. She always wore heels and he hadn't seen her in so long he couldn't be certain on a number.

And Ben had been just shorter than Luther before he died.

As Luther nears the kitchen he can hear laughing. It's an odd sound to hear due to how cold and empty the house had been recently. The sound seemed to lighthearted. Maybe not fully joyful but happy in certain aspects none the less. It had been years since any of them had genuinely laughed.

He can't say he's surprised when he sees Five and Vanya sitting at the table with toast and coffee before them. As soon as Luther enters they silence, Five shifts in his seat and Vanya wraps her hands around her mug. Luther tries to ignore them so they'll go back to whatever they were talking about before his entrance interrupted.

He's expecting them too anyway.

Luther can't help but notice the awkward silence that lingers as he fixes himself a bowl of cereal. "Sorry, did I interrupt something?" He decides to ask, leaning against the counter and poking at his breakfast with his spoon, not sitting at the table because he wasn't sure if he was welcome to or not.

Vanya shakes her head and then giggles. Five's posture changes and if his back wasn't to Luther the blonde would be more confident that his brother had also cracked a smile. Whatever they had been talking about was apparently very funny.

Luther takes a bit of his food and then for some reason decides that's the best moment to ask "what?" And then sends himself into a muffled coughing fit from breathing in as he tries to swallow. He tries to covertly recover as he gives one last cough before asking again. Which for some reason makes Vanya laugh more.

"What? Did I miss something?"

"We were just talking about that one time at breakfast when Klaus refused to eat his grapes." Vanya says, seemingly barely able to get a word out between fits of giggles. So Five finishes the story for her, which on Luther's behalf is good because he can remember more than one occasion when Klaus refused to eat something.

"Yeah and then he flung one at you with his spoon and it hit your forehead." Five takes a drink from the mug in front of him.

"Oh my gosh you got so mad!" Vanya laughs and Luther has to wonder if he's actually ever heard that sound from her before. He knows enough to know that he likes it, he was happy whenever his family was happy.

"So Diego starts cackling like a hyena," Five continues, "And then Klaus flings one at him-"

"And then he started choking on it?" Luther finishes for him, "Yeah I remember that," and as awful as it was because their brother choking is a very serious matter, he still laughed because it had been funny the next week once Diego had calmed down about it, "Pretty sure he found some way to blame me later on. He's lucky part of his power is holding his breath for so long." Luther shakes his head, remembering his brother's initial panic and then afterward realizing it was no big deal, as he sits down at the table with his siblings. He figured now that he was a part of the conversation that he was allowed to sit down. So as usual he takes his seat at the head of it.

"I'm pretty sure he was afraid of grapes for a little bit too. For some reason Klaus started hiding grapes all over Diego's room and places he hung out. I don't know what was up with all that."

"Yeah I know, I helped Klaus with a few of the hiding places." Five looks far too pleased with himself as he says this. "The bunch on the outside of this window sill were my genius. Klaus was just going to settle for the sock drawer."

"I put the ones in his shoes." Vanya adds. She has to stifle yet another set of giggles so she can drink from her cup. She shares a knowing look with Five. "And then Ben put the ones in his pockets. That was funny too because Diego couldn't figure out how Ben did it since it was the clothes he was wearing that day! And I think Allison was going to join us too until Diego told on us to mom."

Luther laughs along with her and Five but he can't help but wonder where he was in all of it. He didn't remember that part.

Before he can ask, they're interrupted by Pogo. "Master Luther?" He interjects, "It's Miss Allison, she's returning your call from yesterday?"

"Oh right." Luther had completely forgotten about that with the sudden appearance of Vanya. He gets up to put his bowl into the sink and then leaves Vanya and Five to speak with Allison.

He follows Pogo until they're to the phone that's lying in wait and Luther picks it up. "Allison?" He says her name like a question, almost afraid she's hung up. "Luther! Is everything okay?" Her voice says through the phone. He feels a little sadness at the thought that she'd think he'd only call if something had gone wrong.

"No, uh, it's great. Everything's good. It's actually amazing," And he laughs a little to himself, he can picture her confused look in his head. It had been a long time since he'd seen her but a lot of her facial expressions were imprinted in his head. "Five came home actually." And there's silence on her end.

"Allison? Are you still there?"

"Yeah. Yeah, um," He can tell she can't believe what she's just heard him say. So he repeats it.

"Five. He came back. He's here at the house. He and Vanya are just finishing up breakfast actually. "

"Can I talk to him?"

"What? You don't want to come here?"

"I'm- Luth I'm busy. I can't get away from work. I have a lot to do."

"Can't you tell them it's family?"

"Can I just talk to him? Please?" And she sounds very serious. Luther partially cowers away from the phone in a dejected manner. He had kind of wanted to see her again. But if she said she couldn't get away from work then she couldn't get away.

So he lays the phone back down and retrieves Five.

He watches his brother's side of the conversation. It seems very formal and straight to the point rather than a conversation between a brother and a sister who hadn't seen each other in five years.

Luther is sort of sad when Five hangs up the phone. Part of him had hoped Allison would want to talk to him some more before saying goodbye, she hadn't even told him goodbye, just requested Five. But he was wrong.

"What did she say?" Luther asks.

"Just that she missed me and couldn't wait to see me at Christmas."


	6. SORRY! -An Authors Note

As some of you have noticed, a few of the chapters whenever I upload them have had lines of code and are pretty much unreadable.

When this first happened I thought it was because I had copy and pasted straight from AO3 where I primarily post the story so I figured that was the issue. But this past time I had copied and pasted it straight from my word document. The past couple of times to fix it I've had to copy and paste it from the third platform I use, Quotev, and it seems to fix it.

I'm going to make sure from now on though that it's not like that before I leave it.

Also to everyone who actually read the fic while it was messed up- YOU GUYS ROCK! I can't believe you were able to do that! I would have given up lol.

But thank you to everyone who let me know it was messed up and thanks everyone for reading so far. I know the update was slow but my inspiration for it is flowing again so expect to see a few more chapters this month!


	7. Chapter 6

It's been just over one week since then.

It's almost as if Luther and Five are strangers in the house.

Luther eats meals by himself, sometimes just as he's about to leave the table Five will enter and Grace will prepare him a plate. The boys will nod in acknowledgement to each other and that will be the only interaction they have for the day.

Luther goes about his days like he did. Finding meaningless activities to fill his days, things he had always wanted to do in the small window of time they had always had for recreation on Saturdays. Since everyone had moved out Reginald had stopped pushing Luther to train or do any kind of schooling. If Luther was really bored he'd go to their makeshift gym and hit on punching bags until they burst.

And he wouldn't see Five. At all. His brother had shut himself in his room and didn't talk to anyone. Sometimes Luther would stop by his door and listen real hard to see if he heard Five talking to himself like he used to when they were kids.

They were strangers living in the same home. Plain and simple.

It had really all started though as Luther trying to give Five space. He knew he needed to adjust to being back home. Luther wasn't sure what had happened to his brother but he knew it must have been awful. Trapped somewhere and unable to get home to his family. But then after a while Luther realized that Five had shut him out. He picked up on it one night when he tried to talk to Five but the other had completely ignored him. A very stark contrast to the Five at breakfast a week ago. The one who was laughing along with their sister about the past.

Luther didn't know what to do. He didn't know Five anymore. And he hated it. But what could he do? He's always been the leader first and the brother second. Another thing he hated. But it was all in the past and he couldn't fix it now.

He lay awake in his bed, looking up at the glow in the dark stars on his ceiling as he thought about it all. There had to be something he could do. Something to fix it. Something to reconnect with the brother he lost. He had just been miserable that he was all alone in such a big house and now here they were. But they were strangers.

He's tossed out of his thoughts when a sound he thought he had forgotten distracts him. Luther rolls over onto his side and in the dim lighting sees someone who a week ago he would have thought was a ghost. He would have questioned if he and Klaus had suddenly swapped powers.

But they hadn't. Five was there, standing in the glow of Luther's bedside lamp like it was a spotlight.

"Still sleep with this thing?" He chastises.

Luther looks at the lamp and then at Five. "Shut up." Because it was embarrassing. He didn't know where it came from but he was afraid to sleep in the dark. He was always nervous there would be something there or someone could hide in the shadows. He was very thankful that tonight he hadn't tried to sleep with just the light from his window. Five would have probably given him a heart attack.

"Your models look good." Five's voice is so monotone it doesn't sound real. "There's a lot more than there were last time I was in here." He doesn't even look around. He just stares at Luther but it's not even eye contact just – _at_ him.

"What do you want?" Luther says, confusion written in the faint lines on his face and furrowed brow. Five was talking a lot and he sort of wanted to sleep. Not that he was doing much of that anyway.

Five says nothing. He's still as a statue as he looks Luther up and down. It unnerves the blonde and he wishes that his brother would do something instead of standing there like some eerie phantom deciding on whether or not to collect his soul.

Finally, after what seems like forever, Five speaks, "Scoot over." He commands. And Luther does as he's told. Not really sure why but he doesn't question it.

No words pass between them as Luther moves and he doesn't even say anything when Five moves the blankets to lay down next to his brother.

And it's quiet again. Luther stays on his side and watches Five get comfortable on his back. He stares up at the ceiling and Luther watches Five.

He realizes that Five is still wearing most of uniform.

This close Luther begins to pick apart how different they are.

For starters Five is much smaller.

Luther grew like a weed in height and with his ability his muscles got larger, not significantly but enough that it was noticeable. Even after being apart for five years, Five seemed to have not grown much. He was just over a quarter shorter than Luther.

Five's hair was brown and Luther's was blonde. Though one time Luther cut his really short and it was very dark. However now his bangs were almost in his eyes. He'd have to cut it again soon.

They were also different in personality and mannerisms as well.

Five was far more confident and more intelligent the way Luther saw it. He was also defiant and much braver. He always seemed like he knew what he was doing. Luther on the other hand would question himself often. He followed orders and hardly ever stepped out of line if he could help it. He was so self conscious and wouldn't always classify himself as brave.

The only thing they seemed to have in common were their eyes. They were the only two in the family with clear blue eyes. Allison, Diego, Ben, and Vanya all had brown and Klaus had a green kind of color. But the two of them had blue.

For the second time that evening Luther's train of thought is thrown off by the sound of Five's voice.

"I'm sorry." He says, and he sounds so apologetic that Luther wonders if he's about to get up and leave, or maybe teleport out. So Luther takes a moment to respond until he's sure Five isn't going anywhere just yet.

"For what?" Luther finally questions.

"I didn't want to be alone."

Five's face changes from considering flight to one of desperation, like he doesn't want to go but he's still afraid Luther is going to push him away.

"I spent five years in an awful post-apocalyptic nightmare. Alone. And then I come home and I force myself to continue being that way. I don't want that anymore. I'm- I'm scared of the silence now Luther."

Five sounds so sad and Luther's heart breaks. He understands how his brother feels. In that moment, Luther wants to fill any second of silence and loneliness Five could ever have in his life ever. Because he knows how awful the silence is. How being all alone feels so helpless. It was deafening.

"I sorry if you don't want me here. I just- I couldn't take it anymore and I didn't know where to go." Five says and he moves as if he's about to get up to leave but Luther reaches out and grabs his arm, making him stay. In that moment where he thought Five was about to leave him he got scared. Because now that he wasn't alone he didn't want to lose the company.

"Stay," he says, and Five turns his head and they make eye contact. Suddenly something that felt like was missing in Luther feels like it has returned. He can't fully describe the feeling and he doesn't even understand it. "I know. When everyone moved out the house got so quiet. We're not so different."

With the reassurance, Five seems to get comfortable again. He scoots closer to Luther and Luther lets him, getting comfortable himself. And then Five yawns, eyes fluttering. He looks like he hasn't slept in forever and Luther is pretty sure the shadows on Five's eyes aren't shadows and are instead dark circles that are the tell of many sleepless nights.

If Luther is honest he hasn't exactly slept well in the past few days either. He'd have to ask five about it in the morning. He was already falling asleep himself.

**A/N: **

**So I found out last night that Aidan actually has green eyes and I got super mad because that kinda ruined the moment that I had for them. And Jensen Ackles- who I use as my FC for an older Five- also has green eyes and I just - oof guys.**

**BUT this /is/ fanfiction after all so lets pretend it's that way for the sake of the fic yeah? Aidan stans who care about that stuff can suck it (jk guys ily I'm sorry but I'd like for it to be this way)**


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